Data Security Insights from the 2025 Gartner® Market Guide for DLP

Each year, the Gartner Market Guide for Data Loss Prevention (DLP) offers more than a checklist of features—we think it’s a reflection of where data security is headed. 

The 2025 Gartner Market Guide for DLP discusses that the stakes are higher, the environments are more complex and the expectations for data security are rapidly changing. Security and risk leaders need solutions that are flexible, integrated and built for today’s workforce.
Here are the key insights that stood out to us regarding the changing role of DLP and how we believe Forcepoint is adapting alongside our customers.

Visibility and Control Across the Modern Work Surface

Traditional data loss prevention (DLP) was built to protect the corporate perimeter. But with data flowing freely between endpoints, SaaS apps, unmanaged devices and GenAI tools, that perimeter is long gone.

Gartner states:

“By 2027, 70% of CISOs in larger enterprises will adopt a consolidated approach to address both insider risk and data exfiltration use cases.”

This is where we feel our Data Security Everywhere approach comes in. Forcepoint DLP serves as a unified DLP platform that covers endpoints, email, web, network and SaaS apps—managed through a single policy engine and deployed in the cloud, on-prem, or in a hybrid cloud environment. Whether you're protecting data in Microsoft 365, blocking risky file uploads at the browser level or to unsanctioned cloud storage apps, or enforcing controls on a contractor’s laptop, Forcepoint applies consistent, context-aware policies across all channels.

The Forcepoint approach reduces complexity, eliminates policy silos and delivers visibility and control that scales across your modern work surface.

Understanding Behavior and Risk in Real Time

One of the topics in this year’s report: the focus on context and user behavior. Here, Gartner discusses the growing need for tools that not only inspect content, but also evaluate intent, risk signals and behavioral patterns to better detect and respond to insider threats.

Gartner writes: 

“Invest in a DLP solution that can understand the full context surrounding the data, identify baseline user risk, and compare subsequent actions to the baseline activity by gathering contextual clues about the who, what, when and where of the data. This should be a priority for organizations with heightened concern about insider risk.”  

 We believe Forcepoint has long pioneered this space through our Risk-Adaptive Protection (RAP) capabilities. Rather than rely solely on fixed rules or binary blocks, RAP continuously evaluates user activity, adjusts risk scores in real time, tailoring enforcement accordingly. This means trusted employees can work without disruption, while high-risk behavior—whether accidental or intentional—gets flagged or blocked immediately.

It’s a smarter, more human-centric approach to DLP that aligns with the direction Gartner lays out for insider risk mitigation.

Data Classification: A Foundation for Accuracy and Compliance

Here, we think Gartner reinforces what many security teams are rediscovering: data classification is a foundational component to a successful DLP implementation. In the absence of clear labeling and categorization, it becomes much harder to write effective policies, reduce false positives and ultimately, to demonstrate compliance.

Gartner states: 

“Accurate data classification adds a layer to DLP detection, which minimizes false positives that introduce friction between security and business teams.”

This is why data classification represents a core pillar of our approach, offering native capabilities and deep integrations with tools like Microsoft Purview where we deliver AI-powered data classification that automatically identifies and labels sensitive data.

This combination allows Forcepoint customers to:

• Write accurate, more granular DLP policies
• Reduce noise and alert fatigue
• Strengthen compliance efforts by knowing what data matters—and proving it's protected

Classification is no longer a checkbox. It forms the foundation of how organizations create shared context and precision across security and compliance teams.

Closing the Visibility and Risk Gap

Gartner discusses the critical need to govern data at rest—especially unstructured data that lives in cloud storage, file shares and collaboration tools.

This is where practices like Data Access Governance (DAG) and Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) come into play. They allow organizations to identify over-permissive access, visualize data sprawl and address long-standing risks that may not trigger a traditional DLP alert.

Through our acquisition of Getvisibility, Forcepoint DSPM combines data discovery and classification, access governance and data visibility to help customers: 

• Discover and understand data risks at scale
• Monitor and remediate risky entitlements
• Align data governance with broader DLP enforcement

Forcepoint’s approach supports proactive risk reduction—not just reacting to what’s leaving the network, but securing what’s quietly exposed inside it.

Committed to Meeting Our Customers’ Data Security Needs

At Forcepoint, we’re evolving right alongside these demands. Whether you’re focused on compliance alignment, insider risk or simplifying operations across hybrid environments, we’re building tools to help you move faster with more confidence all with fewer compromises.

If you’re thinking about where your DLP strategy goes next, this report is well worth a read. Download the 2025 Gartner Market Guide for Data Loss Prevention today.

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Gartner Market Guide for Data Loss Prevention, Andrew Bales, Franz Hinner, 9 April 2025

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